NJSP is an
intensive inter-disciplinary academic summer program for thirty-nine of the most
intelligent, outgoing, and highly motivated New Jersey residents who have
completed their junior year and are “rising seniors,” entering their senior
year September. The five-week residential program takes place at The Lawrenceville School and is funded by private contributions.

The 2015 topic is Climate Change and the Human Experience. Details about the program and the application process are posted in October on the NJSP website – www.newjerseyscholarsprogram.org. Applications are coordinated by a public,
private or parochial school’s guidance department and are not available on
line. There is a rigorous
application process. Applications are
due in early January. Semifinalists are
selected by early March and invited to The Lawrenceville School in late-March
for a tour of the campus with Scholars from the previous class and a small
group interview. The thirty-nine
finalists chosen to be the next class of New Jersey Scholars are advised in
early-April.

Climate Change and the Human Experience?

Climate change is a complex, controversial, and challenging global problem and will probably be the most important environmental issue of the 21st century. Scientists from around the world are virtually certain the earth is warming due to human causes (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, October 2013), yet their characterization of the uncertainties in this complicated planetary problem leaves some people doubting about its causes and consequences. The New Jersey Scholars Summer 2015 Program will explore the science of climate change, as well as its social, political, and economic implications. Our interpretive tools will be the lenses of various disciplines such as science, literature, politics and sociology. Our inquiry methods will include interpreting scientific data, discussing case studies, questioning guest speakers, delving into primary literature, analyzing the political process and examining the divergent viewpoints of different stakeholders in this global issue likely to have significant impact on New Jersey, the United States and the world.

A crucial part of the magic of the
Program derives from the fact that the Scholars live together for five weeks (with one long weekend at home, July
17th - 19th in one dormitory
with each gender residing on separate floors. Together they help each other rise to the challenges
posed by the Program. The camaraderie
that develops is extraordinary. With
their resident housemaster and assistant housemaster, the Scholars learn to
live together, learn together, and laugh together. Athletics provide a useful way to rest the brain
and are conveniently accessible at The Lawrenceville School's athletic
facilities -- pool, golf course, track, fitness and weight rooms, and tennis,
basketball and volleyball courts.
Scholars also organize a few off-campus jaunts for a change of pace. The Program ends with a graduation ceremony
to which all parents and families are invited.

All in all, the New Jersey Scholars
Program offers an extraordinary experience.